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Click here to visit "Virtual Sisters," the website for Lael, Nancy and Carroll, self-proclaimed Crusty Old Broads and Deseret Book bestselling authors.

Why Crusty Old Broads?

In our trilogy, "The Company of Good Women," a COB—a Crusty Old Broad—is a woman who, in the face of whatever life sends her way, "pulls up her socks and goes on." We all feel that we’ve pulled up our socks many times!

Who are the Crusty Old Broads?

Nancy Anderson’s writing has taken a back seat to raising five "intriguing" children and being grandma to eleven active grandchildren. Aside from family, her passion is gardening. Her lovely back yard has been the scene of many special neighborhood and family events.

Nancy says, "Writing Deenie’s story has been a delightful way to share my own experiences and the fictionalized stories of women I have known. Many thanks to my loving husband and supportive family."Nancy lives in Sandy, Utah, with her husband, Jim, and her dog, Pepper.

Lael Jensen Littke grew up on a farm in Mink Creek, Idaho, where she herded cows and dreamed of being a writer someday. She would live in a penthouse in New York City and wear glamorous leopardskin pants (Lael saw too many movies).

After graduation from Utah State University, she went to Denver to pursue a career, but instead met a young man named George Littke whom she married. When George received a fellowship to finish his doctoral studies at New York University, Lael knew her dreams were coming true. Forget the penthouse and leopardskin pants. She settled for an excellent writing teacher at City College of New York and before long began selling short stories. When the family, which now included a small daughter, moved to California, Lael found another outstanding writing teacher at Pasadena City College and got started writing novels for young adults and children.

Her credits now include more than 40 books for young people, plus a series of three women’s novels co-authored with Nancy Anderson and Carroll Morris. She says she needs to apply for a life extension because she has at least another 40 book ideas.

Her philosophy can be summed up in this anonymous quotation:

"Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming, “Wow, what a ride!”

Carroll Morris says, "I remember I writing some poems in 4th grade. I gave them to my teacher, and she promptly lost them! The short story I wrote in sixth grade fared better: 'The Horse’s Grave' appeared in the grade-school paper, 'The Puppy Dog’s Tale.'"

After that, Carroll’s fledgling writing career went underground for thirty years, until she wrote her first novel. She’s been writing ever since then—fiction and self-help books because she loves them and catalog copy to help put four children through college.

Carroll and husband Gary, retired three years ago to Green Valley, Arizona.

Friday, May 15, 2009

After spending the last few months getting two creaky knees replaced, I'm excited to be teaching at the BYU Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers Workshop from June 8th to the 12th. For more info, click here.

I will be teaching the principles I learned from the best writing teacher in the world, Helen Hinckley Jones, who taught an ongoing extended day classs at Pasadena City College, and after retirement a class in her home for a chosen few. I studied with her for over twenty-years, until her death. After that, a group of twelve of her students continued to meet twice a week. Out of this group has come over 600 books for children and young people (as well as a few women’s novels).

One of the wisest things Helen, whom we called our ‘literary mama,’ ever said was, “Remember in writing for kids that they don’t want to look at the forest. They want to meet the bear.” She said that in writing for kids you get to the action immediately. Forget about beautiful descriptions. Bring on the bear!

Whenever one of us started a new book, Helen insisted that we be able to state the story question in one sentence. Why is Carlene having memories of a town where she has never lived? Will Robin discover the secret of the haunted dress? Will Selene be able to choose between her two families, the one that raised her and the one she was kidnapped from thirteen years before? “The story question is your roadmap to where you are going on your journey through the book,” Helen said. “It keeps you focused.”

Some rules were made to be broken if you write well enough, Helen admitted. But one of her inflexible rules was that the character must solve his/her own problem. The stakes must be high. What is the dreadful alternative if the character can’t solve the problem?

We, her students, came week after week after week, learning from her. She was hard on us and didn’t let us get away with being lazy about our writing. But we loved her classes. I told my brother once that her class was the highlight of my week. His face bunched up with sympathy. “You poor thing,” he said. And my husband said, “You women get together at least twice a week. Don’t you ever run out of things to talk about?” No. Any writer worth his/her salt will understand that.

We all went through hard times. An astute writer named L. Rust Mills has said, “The sinister thing about writing is that it starts off seeming so easy and ends up being so hard.” But Helen never let us give us during the hard time. “Persist,” she said. “That’s the secret.”

We persisted. And succeeded. Over 600 books attest to that fact.

And so I hope to encourage my class in June to persist. Learning the rules, as taught by Helen, will help. Although Somerset Maugham said, “There are three rules for writing a novel. Unfortunately, no one knows what they are.”

But we will have fun talking about what is a passion with all of us writers -- writing.

Sister Site

On the Shelves Now!

The long awaited and fourth novel of Carroll Hofeling Morris and Nancy Anderson, Leaning into the Curves is now available at Deseret Book stores and through their online services. www.deseretbook.com

Leaning into the Curves

Molly is happy with her life the way it is, taking the classes she loves and performing with the Fiddling Finleys. But everything changes when her husband, Hank, retires. She's still trying to adjust to this new phase of her life when he brings home a Honda Gold Wing--even though he knows she hates motorcycles! Things go from bad to worse when he joins the Temple Riders Association, a "Mormon motorcycle gang" that combines road trips with temple work.

Faced with the prospect of being left hebind when Hank rides with his rew friends, Molly starts making some changes of her own.
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Leaning into the Curves offers a delightful view of a little-known group of faithful Latter-day Saints. Full of appealing characters and unexpected turns, it gives a new twist to what life can be like after "a certain age"!
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"Funny, touching, and outrageously on the mark. I see a best seller here." Mary McLain

Related Article

Check out Will Some Body Please Explain Retirement to Me by Carroll recently published online, May 19, 2010, under the column line upon line in Meridian Magazine. It's a nice tie in with the book and even features a link to purchase Leaning into the Curves. Mercy! What fun! meridianmagazine.com

"Surprise Packages," third volume in "The Company of Good Women" series

Surprise Packages is the best book of the series! —Erma Carrier-This series is an endearing tribute to women and every kind of love they experience—times three. —Ginger Franz-Click here to purchase, and be sure to stay tuned for the Virtual Book Tour which is coming in August!